Sentinel

Name:

Sentinel

Company:

Atari

Model #:

CX-7869

Programmer:

David Lubar

Year:

1991

Released?

Yes (PAL Only)

Notes:

Sentinel was the last 7800
to be released.

Sentinel is an oddity among 7800 games in that it is the only game
not to be released in the US. Due to the collapsing market for the
7800 in America, Sentinel was only released overseas in PAL format. The
7800 version of Sentinel is very similar to the 2600 version (which was
released in NTSC format), but with the expected graphical enhancements.
So did American gamers miss out on one the best 7800 games ever
to grace the console? Not really...

Sentinel is a shooting game that plays like a side scrolling version
of Crossbow (which was also released for the 7800). However
while in Crossbow you had several people to protect as they walked across
the screen, Sentinel only has one large orb for you to protect. As
your orb (known as the Sentinel) moves steadily across each enemy planet,
it will be under attack by numerous small aliens. You goal is to
protect the Sentinel from getting hit at all costs. However given
the speed of the aliens and inaccuracy of the light gun, this isn't an
easy task.

The Sentinel was built to absorb all the energy from the alien planet
(sort of like that Crystalline Entity from Star Trek). This is accomplished
by shooting the enemies on the screen. Enemies in Sentinel come
in two flavors, air enemies and ground enemies. Air enemies will
either attempt to ram the Sentinel or will hang back a short distance
and shoot bullets, while ground enemies will always stop and shoot
at the Sentinel. Accurately shooting all the enemies on the screen
as quickly as possible is the key winning this game, as the longer you
let the enemies congregate the quicker you will be overwhelmed. If
things begin to get out of hand you can shoot the Sentinel itself to set
off a super bomb which will destroy all the enemies on the screen. The
super bomb can only be used when the word READY lights up next to the
super shot meter.

As you progress deeper into each level you will begin running
across power ups. Power ups appear as odd looking square boxes that
fly at the Sentinel. Shooting these boxes will give you one of these
bonuses:

If you've purchased a copy of Sentinel, then you've undoubtedly noticed
that the manual included with game looks odd. This is becuase Sentinel
was released so late in the 7800's lifecycle that Atari didn't even
bother printing a professional manual for the game. Instead they
simply copied the prototype manual (complete with placeholder text), and
packaged it with the game. This is most likely because Atari was
desperate to get the carts they had manufactured out the door by any means
necessary.

While Sentinel isn't a bad game by any stretch, it just lacks the variety
needed to make it a great game. The background and enemies may look
different from planet to planet, but they all have an oddly familiar feel
to them. The giant bosses at the end of each level are a nice touch,
but even they start to produce a sense of deja vu. Repetative level
design combined with Atari's highly inaccurate light gun make Sentinel
an average 7800 at best.